The following interviews are the more current(2000-2003)interviews. Enjoy!
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The Truth About Friends-2002
She may be one of television's most beautiful and highly paid actresses but Friends star Courteney Cox Arquette admits to the same hang-ups as the rest of us: body shape, man trouble, karaoke cringes. Here, she welcomes Charlotte Moore into her Hollywood home for a girlie chat over a cup of tea...
Arriving at Courteney Cox Arquette's home just off Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles is a bit like coming to the end of a Yellow Brick Road. Two days before the interview, her publicist's assistant had called me to give me her address- and strict instructions not to tell anyone (not even my Editor) the information that she is about to give me. I am told to tell the taxi driver that I am going to see someone called Alleta Kriack (Courteney's PA), should he ask. So, when I finally get there and the three meter high gates to the driveway whirr silently open, it's hard to believe that this pretty, rather than palatial, house is truly the home of one of the highest paid TV stars ($1 million per episode of Friends is the latest rumor) of all time.
"Hi", gushes enthusiastic Alleta, the doorbell barely rung out. "Courteney's actually sick. Would you like to come in though? Can I get you something to drink?" The news that the interview might be cancelled doesn't make me feel that well either. "But when she realized that you'd come all the way from England to meet her, she wanted to go through with it anyway", Alleta rushes on, ushering me speedily through the opulent entrance hall, through her office -laptops busy twinkling- and into a huge kitchen, where Courteney's cook is chopping mountains of challots, next to a bubbling vat of stock. Are Mr. and Mrs. Cox Arquette entertaining tonight?
A couple of minutes later, Courteney wanders in. Inevitably, she looks tiny, even in her bulky, sick person's Nike shell suit. "Hi", she says, smiling. "I'd like to kiss you but, y'know, I wouldn't want you to catch my cold". Now I know Hollywood stars have their tricks, but she really does (shiny suit aside) look fabulous. Even though she's having a duvet day and isn't wearing any make-up to speak of, her eyes literally shine out, and her hair is long, ridiculously glossy and looks expertly blunt cut.
"Do you have tea?", she smiles. "How long do we have? You must have tea". Instantly, I like her. Not just because of the tea, but because, despite the awesome surroundings in which we are sitting -a Thai style garden complete with stone Buddha water feature- she genuinely seems to want us both to enjoy this interview.
Curled up in the deep, weather worn cushions of her trendy garden sofa, she heaves a happy sigh and mutters, "It's so relaxing here. I don't know why I'm selling it". She and her husband, actor David Arquette, have another spectacular house, down the road in Malibu. Not that this place doesn't feel lived in. A tribute to maximalist living, there are paintings, photographs and objects everywhere -all slightly kooky and unique in style; most notably in the downstairs loo (I can't resist the excuse to go), where the walls are adorned with Ken (as in Barbie) dolls, seven plastic dwarves, an odd looking Snow White and a range of Mickey Mouse's.
But, despite the comfort of her wealth, the last couple of years haven't been great for the 38-year-old star of the three Scream movies. In June 2001, she found she was expecting a baby. She'd talked openly to the press about how much she'd longed for children. When, two weeks later, she was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA with stomach pains, she was devastated when she miscarried. Later that year, her 71-year-old father, who'd been diagnosed with liver cancer, died, closely followed by two of her beloved dogs, and then there was another miscarriage of January this year (so I take it that was true then...). "It was horrible being watched by the press while it was going on. One magazine photographer even followed me while I was holding my dog. I was like 'Come on, this really is private", she says, scratching her forehead in disbelief.
Not that any of this has made her any less open about her personal life. Although she's agreed to do a rare interview for Marie Claire as part of her support for Save the Children's 'One World, One Wish' campaign, it's her marriage to David, her soirees with the Friends cast and the benefits of therapy that really had those eyes glinting.
Why did you get involved in Save the Children's 'One World, One Wish' campaign?
I'm approached by charities every day, so I try to focus on ones that are about kids -ones that touch me in some way. My father died of cancer and David's mother died of breast cancer, so cancer research is very important to me. But it seemed amazing to be able to help underprivileged kids around the world by wearing a campaign T-shirt.
Is it hard to stay in touch with the difficulties ordinary women face when you're an actress and a celebrity?
I don't think so. I have many of the same problems as other women. Relationships, love and work -whether it's about wanting to get a movie as a job or as a waitress- all these things worry us in the same way.
Why were you so drawn to the part of Monica in Friends?
Originally, there was interest in me playing Rachel, but I really wanted to play Monica for some reason. I don't know whether it was a good choice or a bad choice, but looking back I think it was because I identified with her neurosis. Being neurotic is a part of myself that I don't like, and I think playing Monica has helped me deal with that.
Because she makes being neurotic seem so funny?
Yes. But Monica has superceded any neurotic behavior that I ever had.
What's been the best thing for you personally about doing Friends?
There are so many great things... But really it's the friendships that are the best thing.
So you're all actually friends?
Yes, we truly are. We all say it. Today, when I wasn't feeling well, the first person I spoke to this morning was Jennifer (Aniston).
Do you see each other a lot when you're not working?
Yes, we don't work on Mondays, so Sunday night is our Saturday night and they might come over to our house at the beach in Malibu. David and I are pretty social and we have this room in our house called the 'diamond lounge' --it's got tons of games and a karaoke machine. It's really fun.
What's your karaoke tune?
Usually it's Waterfalls by TLC. That's the one I have most confidence in, anyway. I'm not a singer by any means, but I don't mind making a fool of myself.
Which movie did you enjoy making most?
Scream, because that's when I met David.
What were your first impressions of him?
I first met him when the whole cast had dinner at (Scream director) Wes Craven's house one night for the kick-off party. I thought he was just this cute, young, cocky guy. I didn't think I was flirting, but I found myself being very sarcastic with him.
So there was definitely something going on?
Something? Yes! He was like, 'Why are you being so sarcastic? What happened to "Hi, how are you?"' I think he was a little wary of me. Then, the next time we met, it was at a script read-through in California and he sat next to me. Neither of us enjoy doing read-throughs and we were both extremely nervous -reading out loud reminds me of third grade. Anyway, we drove back to LA together that night and I thought 'Wow -this guy is too much'. He was crazy that night. He's changed now, but I was really attracted to him because he was real kooky. And then we worked together and that was it.
Has getting married improved your life?
I love being married, because I think if you marry the right person for you, it's so freeing. Now, I don't spend any time being jealous or wondering whether it's 'out of sight, out of mind'. I know it's right. David goes away all the time doing movies so we have a lot of freedom. But I have no anxieties about that. We are living together but can be totally separate, and I think that is the most important thing. If you can't have that in a relationship, then I don't want to be in it. I like my separateness.
What was the high point of your wedding day?
I didn't enjoy the wedding day as much as the night before, at the party after the rehearsal. We got married in San Francisco -all my friends and family were from out of town, so it was really fun. My friends and I referred to that night as the Alabama Oscars, because I'm from Alabama and there were all these crazy speeches. I definitely drank too much. The next day, I was a little hung-over and nervous, and we didn't get married till six. But it was a beautiful day. The best part was walking up the aisle with my father. I cried so much, it was so emotional and very special because it was just before he found out he had cancer. It was wonderful, but very intense -what with David and my dad crying and me with a tissue to wipe my eyes, which I had to stick between my boobs.
Did your families get on straightaway?
Yes, David's mum had already passed away, but David's dad was there and I love all my brothers and sisters-in-law.
With all the attention from the press that you and David have, was it odd having such a personal day made so public?
Yes, it was weird, but our wedding planner really protected us from all of that, so I felt very comfortable and free. Although we can all complain about it, you have to accept that it's part of the territory.
It must have been difficult when your miscarriage was reported.
Yes, it was awful. When you think you're going to the hospital to see doctors, you believe that it will be a secret -it's about your family and children after all. Then when someone comes up to you in the hospital and says "Hello", or "Congratulations!" or whatever, you believe that they mean it. But then when they call up the National Enquirer straightaway and tell them that you were in a hospital and describe what you are wearing, you just can't believe that they would do that. I was like 'Surely everything that's not happy should be kept private'.
Did the cast of Friends rally round you at that time?
Yes. They were very supportive of me when I was going through all that personal stuff.
The other thing that has been widely reported is that you and David went to therapy before you were married?
Yes, we did. We wouldn't be married if we hadn't. Well, maybe we would. [Smiles.]
Why did you go?
I'd been smoking for a long time and me, David and his brother Alexis all decided to quit smoking on the 23 September. The next day, David asked me to marry him. Which I thought was very unfair!
Did you have any idea he was going to ask you to marry him?
No idea. My brother had just opened a patio furniture shop in Florida and we were celebrating that there. But David had organized it so that all my family were there too and for Alexis to film it all. I thought to myself- this is a bit extravagant for a shop opening, but hey. Then my whole family said, 'Let's take a walk'. We're a big family and we have fun together, but we never walk! Then, all of a sudden, David drops to one knee, suddenly fireworks are going off and Alexis is filming us. It was all such a shock that I really wanted to smoke. I was so hyped up, I didn't know what to do.
And then...
And then we got home and because we couldn't smoke, we fought like cats and dogs. We hadn't been together that long. OK, we'd been dating for two to three years, but we weren't committed -we were still dating other people. He'd only moved in with me in July, and in September he asked me to marry him.
So you went to therapy because...
We were fighting a lot. I think we replaced the cigarettes with fighting. Not that cigarettes themselves are good, but when you smoke, you go into another room, sit down, breathe in and take time out. It can stifle your feelings. I was just so used to stifling all my feelings by smoking. But when I gave up, I couldn't hold it in any more. I started to loose my temper and express myself in ways I'd never done before. I was more emotional. David and I had to learn ways to cope with all these emotions.
What did your therapist tell you?
He told us that we weren't ready to get married. But we were willing to put the work in -which we did. And so, six months later, I don't remember what our therapist said then, but we just knew we were ready to get married.
Why do you think you were driven to acting when you were younger?
I wasn't driven to acting particularly, I was driven to make money. My parents were divorced and I wanted things my mum couldn't afford, so I knew I would have to work for them. I think my drive was to be independent and not have to ask anyone for anything. Money has enabled me to do that.
What were your dreams when you were growing up in Alabama?
I always thought I'd be a salesperson -my dad always told me that I'd make a really good salesperson. I didn't think acting was an option at all, because none of my family had ever been involved with the profession.
Describe Courteney the teenager.
After my parents were divorced, I was a bit of a rebel, but I never got into drugs or anything. I stood up for what I believed in. From the age of twelve, I replaced sports with a part-time job. I wanted money and although I liked exercising, I didn't enjoy exercising as a group.
Do you have a gym in your house now?
Yes, I have this great machine that is a bit like a stairmaster without having to work so hard. Cardiovascular exercise really raises my endorphins and helps me to relax.
You've never been interested in yoga?
I used to do it, but it's way too still for me. My mind begins to wander. I need to be active.
How did you respond when people said you're too thin?
I think that those people were right. At a certain point in my life, I was too thin. I was 103lb or 105lb. Although I was too thin at the time all I could think was, 'What is the problem with everyone? I like the way I look'. Since then, I've gained weight- I'm probably 10lb heavier. I don't know whether people are still saying it about me, but if they are it's because they definitely don't have anything else to talk about. I'm not too thin now. No one can say that. They can say that my wrists are too thin, but I'm sorry, that's just my bone structure. They were probably right at one point, but not now.
Does being on TV make you anxious about your size?
No, I was just more hyper and anxious back then. I wasn't trying to be thin. Although, I've got to say, I do like to be slim. But there is a good point where what I think might look good may be too thin for other people.
What's the best bit of advice another woman has ever given to you?
Jennifer gives me good advice a lot. So does Lisa (Kudrow), but David gave me the best advice in my life when he said I should 'be true to myself -and be true to the importance of your wish or want'. Jennifer always encourages me to be like that, too.
How do you think you and David have changed each other?
I think I've given David a sense of security that he didn't have when he was growing up. He likes having that security. And as well as giving me trust and freedom, he has brought a lot of whimsical qualities to my life.
What sort of whimsical qualities?
Well, when you look around this house, although it's not all David's taste, there's a lot of his personality in this home. The lunch boxes above the kitchen cabinets, they're David's. The shoes under the pool table, they're David's. He's brought a lot of color into my life and he has a great heart.
What do you think of David's clothes?
He's a wacky dresser. Whereas I hate shopping, David loves to shop. I can't stop him. He has a closet triple the size of mine.
Does he ever try to buy you clothes?
Yes. It's always a good attempt, but they're not right for me. It's not as if they're crazy things. He buys me things that he thinks I would like and then gets it wrong.
Do you get on each other's nerves when you work together?
Sure. In Scream 3, we shared a trailer and that was tough. We like to watch different things on television. I like music and he likes wrestling!
Are you a pretty sociable couple?
Yes, I always thought I was a bit if a homebody, but we're very social. I feel pretty lucky that I have a lot of different types of people in my life.
What would you love to do if you had more time?
I guess I do have more time, but I procrastinate. I would love to take an art class. I paint a little, but I don't really have the technique behind it. And I'd love to take a cooking class and learn French because it's beautiful, although I guess I should learn Spanish because I live in LA. I should put all those things on my wish-list.
What are three more things that would be on your wish-list?
To have a healthy baby. World peace. Just three more huh? OK, to be happy.
Courteney's details
Her takeout order: "Chinese -always. I order cashew chicken, shrimp with black bean sauce and rice."
Her all time favorite video rental: "Kramer vs Kramer. It really touches me."
The actress she admires the most: "Bette Davis. She was great. So strong. And Robert Duvall, although he's not an actress"
Her beauty treatment of choice: "I love facials, but I really can't stand pedicures, because I hate people touching my feet and it tickles"
The last time she was star-struck: I met Morgan Freeman the other day and that was great. He's such a cool movie star.
The place she'd love to visit: "Africa- although I don't like flying. But I've heard that it's so beautiful there."
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A View From the Top-2002
There's something different about Courteney Cox, though it's not readily apparent when she first walks into the restaurant. Actually, she bustles into the place, the clubby Brentwood Restaurant & Lounge, breathless and apologetic for being a mere 10 minutes late. She has had a swamped Tuesday that included not only shooting Friends all day but also putting in an offer to buy a house. The deal later fell through, but not to worry, there will be others. You see, while some people relax by golfing or gardening, Courteney's outside hobby is houses. In the last dozen or so years, she has bought and sold five. Usually she redecorates and remolds them until there's literally nothing left to do but retrace her steps. Then she turns them over-- for a profit. "I have a lot of energy," she says, ordering a glass of wine, a red that the manager reminds her she enjoyed on a previous visit. "When I smoked, I used to relax because I'd actually sit down to have a cigarette. But I haven't smoked in four years, and I haven't sat down in four years either!"
Perpetual motion notwithstanding, Courteney is no blur. In fact, the opposite is true. There's something more distinct and centered about her than you'd imagine. At 38, the actress-- associated in millions of minds as Friends' Monica Bing, née Geller-- has found a new clarity in her life. But this change didn't materialize out of a self-help book, say friends. It was born out of intense personal loss. Last year Courteney's father, Richard Cox Sr., died of cancer. The pain was made even more profound because his death came in between two miscarriages and around the time she lost her two dogs, one 15, the other 14, which she had had since they were puppies.
When Courteney first learned of her father's illness, a rare form of rapidly spreading skin cancer, she was told that untreated he would have only three months to live. Immediately she went into full-on fix-it mode, spending hours making phone calls and searching the Internet for information on the disease, then flying him wherever she thought he could get the latest and best help. "He was doing the conventional medicine, but I believe there's more to it than chemotherapy. My dad really wanted to live, so he was willing to listen to his kooky daughter. We tried it all," she says, enumerating everything from herbal treatments and visits to a healer (where her father was seated next to a dog also also seeking remedy), to consultations with Swiss doctors who could prescribe drugs not available in the U.S.
Her father-- an Alabama pool contractor who was divorced from her mother, a homemaker, when Courteney was 10-- survived for a year and a half. "Whether the treatments helped him live longer, I don't know," she says, reaching behind her and knocking on the wood of a nearby lamp. "But I believe that something helped. He was playing tennis a month before he died. I am really thankful for all the time we had; it was amazing. It's morbid for me to say, but when you know you're going to die, you live life to the fullest."
Those closest to Courteney say the experience really opened her up. "This was something she couldn't find a solution for," says friend and co-star Jennifer Aniston. "She was forced to surrender, and that was a big deal for her. She did it with such grace and dignity, and not without effort. Trust me, she's still always on the go, moving and grooving. It's not like she's stopping. But there's a sense of peace about her."
It was out of respect for her father's memory that Courteney decided to start using her maiden name again in some situations. "When I was a kid, I wanted to change my last name so badly because I didn't like it. Now that my dad's gone, I don't want to lose it," she says, adding, "It's not an issue for David [Arquette, her husband]. I am an Arquette, but I'm also a Cox. My social security card says Courteney Cox Arquette. And when we have children they will not be Cox-Arquettes, they will be Arquettes."
Still, the move did raise a few eyebrows about the state of their three-year-old marriage. Courteney and her friends say everything is all right, but it seems like an improbable match to some people. Says Katherine Estes Billmeier, Courteney's longtime friend, who recently visited from their hometown of Birmingham, Ala., "We went to this party and some producer said to me, 'What's the deal with them? I don't get it.' And that's not the first time I've heard that. He's probably more the live-for-the-moment type, and she really thinks about the future. But he is nuts about her, and she is nuts about him. They balance each other out."
The couple first met while working on the 1996 film Scream. Both were coming out of other relationships, he with Ellen Barkin, she with Michael Keaton. So it wasn't until they starred together again in Scream 2 the following year that they started dating. "I didn't think he was someone I'd end up with," says Courteney. "He was way too wild for me. He lived hard and was a bit of a daredevil. But he he became less wild after his mother passed away. He changed." Today, she says, "he is able to slow me down."
As for right now, the two are pretty settled in their Malibu home. Since putting their house in Brentwood on the market, the couple have lived in the beach house full-time. Designed in 1979 by noted L.A. architect John Lautner, it's a remarkable glass-and-wood structure with sweeping curves that mirror the shoreline. Courteney has respectfully restored the place, going so far as to obtain the original design plans from the previous owners. "Every bit of decorating she has done there, with the exception of David's knickknacks, is meant to amplify John Lautner's work, not Courteney Cox's decorating acumen," says actor Tim Blake Nelson. "It's really extraordinary."
But the house is more hangout pad than design showpiece. Most Sunday nights, for instance, Courteney and David host a karaoke party. After a buffet dinner, guests adjourn to the Diamond Lounge, a groovy room decked out with retro video games like Donkey Kong and Centipede, to unleash their inner divas. "It's a hoot," says Billmeier. "Courteney and Brad [Pitt] were up there doing a song together that was great. Courteney always says that she and the cast are all friends. The truth is, they really are. Jennifer and Brad spent the weekend there."
Courteney, who says she can belt out a pretty good rendition of TLC's "Waterfalls", wasn't always so bold. "Every year she becomes freer and more in tune with what's funny about herself," says Aniston. "I don't know if I could have seen Courteney getting up on a karaoke stage eight years ago and doing an interpretive dance when the moment strikes her. I cannot even get up on stage-- yet."
And don't for one minute think Courteney isn't working on that. "Sit with Courteney for 20 minutes and you are inspired," says Aniston. "You feel like you can basically go out and conquer the world."
In some ways Courteney and the rest of her castmates have already done that. Friends-- in the middle of its ninth and most likely its last season-- is enjoying some of its highest ratings ever, promising to go out with a bang. "We are starting to go, 'Wow, this is so much fun,' " says Courteney. "Knowing this is the last year, we're able to appreciate it even more." And though she knows it's looming, the show's end is something she can't yet contemplate. "I don't think it's going to really hit us until after Christmas when we have eight episodes left," she says. "I don't know what's going to happen."
The unknown-- Courteney admits she's not always comfortable with it. "I like to see what's ahead," she says. So she's already got some big plans for life after Friends. Starting a family is tops among them. "It would be a great transition for me to have a child," she says, vowing to keep on trying. "Even though I am 38, I don't feel like it, and I know I can get pregnant. I'm not panicked about it at all. Since my dad [passed away], I feel like whatever is going to happen is going to happen. Besides, David is meant to have children. He'll be an amazing dad. He has so much patience and such an amazing heart."
She would also like to take a stab at building a house from the ground up. "One of my fortes is taking a space that has limits and bringing out its full potential. if you give me walls, that's OK. That's why building a house is scary to me. It's unlimited. We'll see if I can build a house from scratch. I think I could."
Even school is a possibility. "David and I talk about going back to school together. In college I wanted to be an architect," she recalls. "I studied for a year, took nine classes and got As, but then I went to New York and did a little bit of modeling. I just never went back. I wish I had."
Who knows? Maybe she'll even take some time to sit down and relax. But whatever happens, all that she has recently had to endure has left her well prepared for whatever comes next. "We are all tied to our parents, and when one of them leaves, there's a tether that releases," says Aniston. "She's still the person that she always was. But she's now able to pursue things on a freer level." Courteney seems to agree: "Something has shifted in me. I feel like there's a weight off my shoulders. It feels really light. This weekend at the beach house, it just hit me. I turned to my husband and my friends and I made a toast. I said, 'I am so happy right now.' "
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Cruising Along-2002/2003
Like her "Friends" character, Monica Geller Bing, Courteney Cox Arquette is Type-A. But unlike Monica, she has the means to indulge in luxuries that can calm her restless soul; like that glorious Mercedes-Benz CL600. But what she enjoys most are the things she can't put a price tag on, like the happy relationship she has with her husband, David.
Courteney Cox Arquette enjoys nice things, but not the kind of nice things one would guess. She doesn't spend her money on couture clothes, decadent trips or costly baubles like so many other Hollywood actresses. Instead, she has poured the pay checks from her numerous films including Ace Ventura, Pet Detective and the three Screams, and her top-rated TV show "Friends" (for those who don't read showbiz news, she gets $1 million an episode), into houses. One of the first she ever purchased, a vintage house in Bel-Air, is the very one I am sent to interview her in. It's lushly decorated with low-slung couches festooned with silk pillows in brilliant red, saffron and purple. Ornate hammered lanterns with a Moorish feel hang from the ceilings. Candles of every size line the tables. The place is full of whimsy that seems more David Arquette, her husband of almost three years, than Cox. Outside, the gardener tends to a sprawling backyard appointed with flowering terraces, spectacular flowers, a swimming pool and a waterfall.
When Cox Arquette walks into the living room to greet me, she looks like a million bucks with no make-up, slicked-back hair and wearing a casual blouse and slacks. She radiates the glow of the well-tended. we walk over to a large couch to settle in and when she sits, so do her two pets, a Burmese mountain dog and a cavalier King Charles spaniel.
Stephen Rebello: Do you ever hang out by your beautiful pool and just take it in?
CCA: I'm not one to sit in the yard and look around. I need to get more like that.
Q: Your house is very beautiful.
A: It was built in the '50s by the architect John Byers. I doubled the size of it. The kitchen was more of a family kitchen, so I built it out. I also built a new master bedroom and another room above the garage that we've turned into David's playpen. I've lived here for about seven years. I really love houses. In fact, this is my sixth house.
Q: Did you make a lot of changes to the interior?
A: It was a little too traditional for my taste. I tried to loosen it up. I worked with an architect named John Andrews and with a few great interior designers, too.
Q: Why so many designers?
A: I change my style a lot. Also, my lifestyle has changed quite a bit since I moved in. When I bought the house, I was broke. Then, as I would get more money, I would change. I got married and everything changed. Before David, I liked cleaner lines. All of a sudden, David comes in with his selection of extra large shoes, marionettes, puppets, lunch boxes and mailboxes. That changed everything.
Q: How did your tastes blend?
A: One of the good things about our relationship is we've been able to meld our personalities and tastes together. But at a certain point, I have to say, "David, ,step aside," because its something I have an extreme passion for.
Q: Does he think big like you?
A: If I said, "David, we're going to have to move into a very small closet, that's just the way its going to be," he could make do in a closet.
Q: What was David's house like before he moved in with you?
A: It was really atrocious because he was a guy, a young guy. There were people on the couch that I'm not even sure he knew. Food. Stuff on the floor. He was such a pack rat.
Q: This house makes me think of the movie The Year of Living Dangerously. Were you inspired by any films while decorating?
A: Elephant Walk with Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Finch. I love the color: orange, red, purple.
Q: What else do you want to do with this house?
A: Nothing, because I've actually sold it.
Q: How can that be? You seem so passionate about it.
A: I'm done. There's nothing else to do with it and I'm bored.
Q: Have you begun to hunt for another house to make over?
A: Yes.
Q: You also have a house in Malibu.
A: That's where I go on weekends. It was built by John Lautner. Its all wood, glass and concrete. It's a real luxury. I never would have been able to have something like that if I hadn't been on the show for so long. I'm very, very thankful for "Friends" [knocks on wood]
Q: It has been reported that the house cost million. Did it make you feel uneasy to spend so much?
A: It was something I thought I couldn't or shouldn't afford. First it was couldn't and then it was shouldn't. I ran into Jeffrey Katzenberg at a restaurant and talked to him about the house because he has one nearby and knows a lot about beach properties. He told me I should call David Geffen because he really is the expert on beach houses. So. I called him. I didn't know him, but he took my call and I was very flattered. He just told me that there is only so much beach frontage, and that it was a great investment and I'd be crazy not to do it. He was right. Not that I would ever sell the house.
Q: Brad Pitt has great knowledge about houses and furniture.
A: We spend a lot of time talking about architecture. We've talked about getting a few couples together, buying a piece of property and building a vacation home on it. I could talk to him for hours about architecture. He not only gets it, he's brilliant about it. I aspire to have his taste. If you give me boundaries, like, "OK, this is what you have to work with, now make it great," I think I can make something great out of a box. But brad goes beyond the box. He comes up with ideas I wouldn't even know how to go about. I definitely feel like I'm expanding myself, but Brad takes what I can do and completely surpasses me.
Q: I've heard you and David throw some great parties.
A: Oh, God, we have parties all the time. Every Wednesday and Sunday, our amazing chef Judy Celbertson comes over and we have what we call "Dinner Party Night." There are a couple of staple people, like my friend Jim Stein, who are always invited. But I love to have different people over all the time. It's just fun. I feel like I have a lot of different types of friends. I invite anywhere between six and eight people over every Wednesday, then Sundays at the beach is kind of a free-for-all where we have 10 to 15 people over. We have a karaoke room where we sing, and we play games like Taboo.
Q: Are you a better party-giver than party-goer?
A: I'm not comfortable leaving my house. If someone invites me over, I would go but it's not like I'm one to say, "Hey, let's hang out at your house tonight." I make it simple. There are a thousand sodas in the refrigerator as well as different kinds of beer and wine, food and chips.
Q: Do you do theme parties?
A: Sometimes I'll say, "let's do Mexican," because there's almost nothing better. I've known Judy for over two years now. The best part is coming home and smelling this amazing food and asking, "Oh, wow, what is that?" I don't like venison or sushi. I don't want to eat what some people think are "luxurious" foods. Although I love eating Nobu. That's a luxury.
Q: Are the Arquette's people you hang out with?
A: Oh, yeah. It's great. On Sundays, Patricia and Rosanna come over. Patricia lives up the street from us and Rosanna has a child named Zoe, and they come over on the weekends almost every week. The boys, Richmond and Alexis, I don't see as much, but we make a point of having family get-togethers. Everybody is really supportive of each other in that family. I'm very fortunate. I love every one of them. They're my family. [a male voice calls for the dogs]
Q: Who's that?
A: Now, that's a luxury, having a dog walker. It makes me happy knowing the dogs are happy. I took the dogs out for a walk this morning, then Hopper came to work with me all day and now they're both going out for their afternoon walk for a whole hour. The walker is so sweet. He lives up the street. I think he's someone's chauffeur.
Q: You're unusual because most actresses would name clothes and jewelry as their favorite luxuries, but you've named houses and a dog walker.
A: I have almost no clothes in my closet. I'm not a big clothes person. But I do love cashmere sweaters by Lucienne -- I can't thing of the full name. I have five of them. I also love Prada. For casual stuff, Juicy.
Q: What other things do you consider luxurious?
A: I love fresh orchids and candles, especially by Illume.
Q: Are you a soak-in-the-tup-with-scented-oils type?
A: [laughs] No. I don't remember the last time I took a bath. the thought of it may sound good but by the time the tub has run, I'm over it. I'm a shower person. We installed a big marble shower with two shower heads. I love taking a shower at the same time David does. We have more fun in the shower---and I don't mean sexually. I'm just saying that we play there. we'll sing and have fun.
Q: Is your bathroom and dressing room full of products?
A: Can I say I'm kind of a product whore? [laughs]
Q: You just did.
A: I go through them a lot. I'm always looking for the one thing that's going to make me look younger or keep me from looking older. There's this product I love, Fabulous Facial Wash and that's the best facial wash. I buy it at Barney's, and everybody should know about it.
Q: Because you're so famous, would you say privacy is one of your biggest luxuries?
A: There isn't anything I can't do. I love roller coasters, and it can be a little difficult sometimes to go to Magic Mountain, but not really. So, you say hi to people and stop to take pictures, but I don't mind. It's a small price to pay for so many wonderful things that we get from fame.
Q: What are some of the wonderful things you get from fame? Free jewelry?
A: I'm lucky, David buys me most of my jewelry. He is a good gift-giver--he has great taste, and he's imaginative. He buys most of the vintage stuff from Neil Lane. I'd never think about going out and buying myself a purse, but david will buy me one. He's very fashionable. You're smiling.
Q: Well, I've seen pictures of him dressed pretty eccentrically.
A: I know everyone knows of him as kind of a kooky dresser, but her has a great sense of style.
Q: You seem very happy with him.
A: He's just so sweet. He's a really good-hearted person.
Q: What is your ultimate fantasy luxury?
A: To fly privately, though it isn't something I get to partake in very often. I'm afraid to fly. I wasn't before, but now I am. I suppose that's wrong, but I can't help it. But to not have to go to the airport is really the ultimate luxury. I guess I could do it all the time, but then I'd be broke. [laughs]
Q: What do you think of as a necessity that other people might think of as a luxury?
A: It's a luxury, but it's also a necessity to have my hair cut by Chris McMillan, who also does our show. Getting your hair blown out before you have to go to some sort of an event is a necessity luxury to me. Doing my make-up isn't hard for me, but the hair is. Getting a facial is a necessity. I like to go once a week, but I usually wind up going once a month. That's just something, especially from wearing make-up on the show, that makes me feel clean. Another necessary luxury? My chiropractor Dr. Rochford on Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. My neck goes out a lot, so I go to him once a week or every two weeks. That's where I hold my body tension.
Q: Do you get very tense?
A: I don't know if I have TMJ but I grind my teeth.
Q: Do you wear a mouth guard at night?
A: I have one, but I don't wear it. I forget where it is.
Q: Your luxuries seem somewhat practical. Aren't you into fancy cars?
A: [laughs] Yes! I love cars, especially cars that handle well, and I love driving fast. I have the best car in the world--a Mercedes CL600, which is a two-door. I thought of getting the 500 but my dad said, "if you're going to do it at all, get the 600." It's like being in a rocket. Oh, it's fantastic! That's a luxury that's crazy. I don't need a 600 in this town because you can't go that fast on the freeways anyway.
Q: You're a speed queen?
A: I'm heavy on the pedal, yeah. But I'm pretty smart. I have a strong sense of awareness.
Q: Where's your greatest luxury vacation spot?
A: Anguilla. I take a private plane and rent a house. I love the people there, and it's the most beautiful island. I stay about nine days. After a week I start thinking of home.
Q: Is it hard for you to relax?
A: It is. I can relax more when I'm not home, though. If I'm here, I think of a million things I should be doing. I'm pretty focused as I sit here with you, but there are a few things I could get up and start adjusting.
Q: Given all the great gifts you have--looks, career, a relationship, houses, a fast car, a dog walker--have you formed a philosophy of why some people seem to have it all and others go lacking?
A: That's interesting. We always want things we don't have, it seems. There are a lot of things I want to do with my career and I will do them. The most important thing is to know we're all on our own path. I'm very happy for people who are more successful because that's their path. I'm really blessed because I have a wonderful relationship. That's the way I'm really blessed most. Even if I didn't have this house or whatever, I know that David and I have fun together. As far as people who don't have as much as me, that's their path. It's important not to compare.
Q: Could you be happy in a closet, the way you said David could be?
A: If I'm not supposed to have any money in two years, I won't. If I'm supposed to have a fantastic career and be in every movie I've ever wanted, I will if it's meant to be. I believe in fate, and I believe in God's path.
Q: Surrounded by so much luxury, can simple things still send you soaring?
A: David has been out of town and the other day, my friend Jim called and asked, "Hey, can I take you out to dinner tonight?" and that just touched me so much, I don't know why. Little things like that. When people come over and bring a bottle of wine, I love that. People being thoughtful makes me happy.
Q: What's going to excite you in the future?
A: I have a lot of things that I want to accomplish, a lot of things that are yet to come out of me. Comedies are fun, but I'm ready to sink my teeth into a nice drama. I think I'm a good producer because I'm not lazy and I like things to move. I'm not there yet, but I'd like to direct. I want to say one last thing about luxury.
Q: What's that?
A: You've made me feel good today, so that was a nice luxury.
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Q&A With Courteney Cox-2003
This fall, in addition to starring in the final season of “Friends really, truly, this is absolutely it, supposedly Courteney Cox will executive-produce a reality show called “Mix It Up,a home-design program for WE: Women Entertainment. NEWSWEEKS Marc Peyser thought we'd better talk to her while she still had time.
Can we really believe next year is the end of "Friends"?
You can really believe it. It' s time.
Wasn't it time this year?
We all thought that when we came to work, but time goes fast and all of a sudden you're thinking, wow, I can't imagine it being over and we're not going to be together. It starts to feel weird. I'm sure we'll have that feeling next year, but we've all made a pact and said this is definitely it.
And you didn't have a pact last year?
We didn't talk about it. We just thought it was going to be over, but we didn't sit down and say, how do you feel, how do you feel? We just assumed it was going to be the last year. This time, we know it is.
How are you going to juggle all these shows?
I'm happier when I'm busy. Someday, hopefully, I'll be a mom, a producer and I clearly want to act.
A mom?
Yeah, that's a definite.
Soon?
I would not wait. I think people can do it all.
In "Mix It Up, people move in together and discover their styles clash. Do you and your husband [actor David Arquette] bicker about the house?
The idea does come from our relationship. David is a pack rat. I'm not so much a neat freak, oh, yes I am. As I'm talking to you, I'm straightening everything in the house.
Didn't you make him throw out a lot of stuff?
No, and that was a big mistake. He has a table of a woman on all fours with a piece of glass on her back. It's kind of like from Clockwork Orange.When we first moved in together, I loved him so much, I tried to make it the centerpiece of my living room. I wouldn't do that now.
© 2003 Newsweek
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Soul Sisters 2003(People magazine)
Mutual support. Undying trust. Shared pedicures. For Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, that's what friends are for.
For three hours on May 2, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, both looking eye-poppingly well-toned in bikinis, gabbed as they lounged on the sands of Hawaii's Hanalei Bay. No one could stop them. Not the oglers, gawkers and eavesdroppers who happened by. Not the three rounds of margaritas (round two courtesy of four star-struck sunbathers a few beach chairs over). Not even the fan who interrupted their yakking to tell them, "You both look just as pretty in real life as you do on the show." After dismissing her with a polite "Thank you," says the fan, Jeani Martin, "It was back to talking, talking, talking. They seemed like best friends."
That's because they are. Since meeting at an audition for Friends in 1994, Aniston and Cox have developed a bond that far exceeds the famously friendly rapport of the cast. "Jennifer appreciates the best of Courteney and Courteney appreciates the best of Jennifer," says a show insider. "You don't see that a lot in show business  this mutual friendship and respect, especially on the same show." As for what will happen to that amity after the show wraps its 10th and final season, Cox's husband, David Arquette, predicts plenty of dinner parties, lunch dates and girls' nights out. "They became real friends while playing them on TV. That won't end because the show is going off the air," says Arquette, 31. "They can't just turn that off."
It began virtually the moment they met nine years ago. "They clicked immediately," says a veteran TV exec who was present that day. Since then the lives of Aniston, 34, and Cox, who turns 39 June 15, have taken many similar turns. As their prime-time careers have elevated them from pavement-pounders to paparazzi fodder, both have set about building big-screen careers, married actors (Cox and Arquette celebrate their fourth anniversary June 12; Aniston and Brad Pitt reach the three-year mark July 29) and wrestled with the thorny (but as yet unresolved) question of when to start a family. Through it all, says a show insider, "you have to marvel at how these two never seem to compete. No jealousy, no fits of pique over some imagined slight."
It helps, no doubt, that the perennial one-for-all ethos of Friends has ensured that both enjoy roughly equal screen time and earn precisely equal paychecks of $1 million per episode. In their off months, the two women have also benefited from a steady diet of projects. Aniston is currently costarring with Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty, which took in over million its opening weekend, placing it firmly at the top of the box office heap over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. Later this year Aniston will share the screen with Ben Stiller in an as yet untitled comedy. Cox, who has a film project in the works with husband David, is also busy producing a new TV show for the fall lineup of the Women's Entertainment network called Mix It Up, which draws on her passion for interior decorating. The effort is a direct offshoot of her own efforts to combine her minimalist sensibilities with Arquette's penchant for accumulating junk. "If I could throw David's stuff out, I would," she admits. "But I have to respect his collection of junk and make it work." She hopes to teach viewers how to do the same.
Still, none of that quite explains what makes Aniston and Cox seek each other out during five-minute breaks on the set and enjoy joint pedicures and manicures during longer lulls. While fellow Friend Lisa Kudrow, 39, often joins the two for lunch, says a Friends source, Aniston and Cox "have more in common. It's just an easy friendship." Unlike Kudrow, who "definitely seems more mature and more matronly," says this insider, "Courteney and Jennifer are like girls postcollege. They act like former roommates who still live together." The telltale signs? The constant giggling, whispering, eagerness to share stories. "They get up close together and hold each other's forearms while they're whispering," says the source.
At some level Aniston and Cox's special chemistry may be a case of opposites attracting. "Courteney is so hyper, jumping around, snapping her fingers," says an NBC insider. "Jennifer just stands there calmly." Their interpersonal styles are also different. Courteney, Kudrow recently told Hollywood Life magazine, "is not afraid of conflict, and she's not combative. You talk it out with her." And Jennifer? "She's very emotional, spiritual, loving and supportive," Kudrow said. "Whatever you say, she's going to find a way to support you with it." With each other, the pair keep nothing back. "We kind of have a pact," Cox told PEOPLE last year. "If anything ever bothers us, we don't hold it in for one second. I never have to say, 'Are you mad?' and she doesn't have to say, 'Are you upset with me?' " Bottom line, for Cox? "I trust her implicitly."
Some of that trust may draw on the overlapping emotional baggage the actresses toted to Hollywood. Growing up in New York City, Aniston had little contact with her L.A.-based dad, soap actor John Aniston, who left her mother, Nancy, when Jennifer was 9. Father and daughter finally reconciled in 1989, but seven years later, Aniston suffered a bitter falling out with Nancy after she blabbed family secrets on a tabloid-TV talk show and then in 1999 published a biography that liberally documented parts of Aniston's childhood. In February, Aniston told W, "I just, at some point I'll just have to let go and decide to forgive her, which I can't do yet."
While Cox remains close with her mother, she too spent much of her youth living at a distance from her father, pool contractor Richard Cox Sr., after her parents divorced when Courteney was 10. During the 18 months that preceded Richard's death from cancer in 2001, she drew particularly close to him  so much so that after his death, Cox dropped "Arquette" from her surname and returned to her maiden name to honor her father's memory. Given such parallel family histories, it's not hard to imagine that when David Arquette says his wife and Aniston "are a great support system for each other," he means more than sharing Cox's recipe for Parmesan dip.
These days both women are busy on the home front. Aniston and Pitt, who own an oceanfront estate in Santa Barbara, are close to moving into the .5 million French Normandy six-bedroom house in Beverly Hills that they've been renovating since they purchased it in June 2001. Cox and Arquette host weekly soirees at their Malibu beach house and can be counted on to do the same at the new .5 million four-bedroom Hollywood Hills home where they are still settling in. Between Pilates and karate classes, Cox plays with her two Cavelier King Charles spaniels, Hopper and Harley, and her Bernese mountain dog Ella. Aniston, who also takes Pilates and works out on a cross-trainer machine, has six dogs to tend to: her own corgi-terrier mix Norman as well as Pitt's five mixed breeds.
And both continue to want children. Cox, who has suffered two miscarriages, can sound almost mystical on the subject of babies. Last winter she told IN STYLE, "I know I can get pregnant. I'm not panicked about it at all. Since my dad [passed away], I feel like whatever is going to happen is going to happen." Aniston is more evasive, routinely issuing enigmatic statements like, "That will happen, but not for a while  but I can't wait."
As they unwind prior to beginning the final  and what is certain to be emotional  Friends season, the soul sisters have spoken of a happiness only recently attained. Cox recently told GLAMOUR that she attributes her new inner calm to realizing "it's okay for people not to like me." Aniston has conquered an enemy a little closer to home. "If there's one thing I'm proud of," she told W, "it's that I've finally gotten over not liking myself." As for their feelings about each other, the final word goes to Cox, who shares a sentiment that will resonate with close female friends everywhere: "I guess the reason why I love Jennifer so much is that I feel very safe with her  always."
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Monica isn't from Brimingham, but Courteney Cox Arquette is.
The actress talks about home, "Friends" and life in L.A.
by Tom Wofford
Birmingham native Courteney Cox Arquette shares a few characteristics with the hometown she left 18 years ago: she's beautiful, hardworking, modest and looking toward the future. Whenever the magic in her career seemed to be wearing off, it turned out to mean only that greater success was around the corner.Less than a year after graduating from Mountain Brook High School, Cox Arquette moved to New York, signed with the prestigious Ford modeling agency and got work almost immediately It took nearly two years, however, before she scored her first role on television, a small part in "As the World Turns." It was her appearance in the video for Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" that brought the petite brunette her first 15 minutes of real fame. Every fan of MTV wanted to know the name of the wholesome, blue-eyed beauty whom The Boss plucked out of a concert audience to join him in a shuffle step on stage.
But the first two television series she landed, "The Trouble with Larry" and "Misfits of Science," fizzled early, and her big-screen credits tended toward the second drawer ("Alien Love Triangle," "Masters of the Universe," "Cocoon: The Return.") Yet she grabbed the spotlight again when she became a regular on the highly successful "Family Ties," playing Lauren, Michael J. Fox's girlfriend.
Cox Arquette remained in demand, making guest appearances on "Murder, She Wrote," "Seinfeld," "Dream On," "The Larry Sanders Show," and starring in a slew of made-for-television movies.
Though she's been a regularly working actress for almost two decades, it is the wild success of "Friends" which has made her one of the biggest stars in the country (she was on the cover of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" issue in 1995) and one of Hollywood's highest-paid actresses (she'll make in excess of million for the current season). Cox Arquette is now a bona fide box office draw as well, after appearing with Jim Carrey in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" and the "Scream" trilogy. (It was on the set of the first "Scream" film that she met actor and 1-800-CALL-ATT guy David Arquette, whom she married last year in a star-studded ceremony in California.)
Cox Arquette insists she is nothing like Monica Geller, the sweet, yet ultra-competitive control freak she plays on "Friends," which has been NBC's number-one comedy for the past two years. Cox Arquette, however, does admit to a passion for frequently redecorating her Los Angeles-area home, from which she called Birmingham magazine writer Tom Wofford recently.
Tom Wofford: Have you always been a compulsive redecorator?
Courteney Cox Arquette: I remember being a kid and being interested in redecorating my room. I shared a room with my sister. We had twin beds, and I was constantly moving them around. I change my style a lot still. Change is important to me.
TW. But you're not the neat freak Monica is.
CCA: Probably not, but I'm not a slob. I'm not as organized as she is. My husband, on the other hand, is a complete slob. I've never seen so many small items in one area. You might not come over here and think this is a very neat place anymore.
TW. What are the other things you do in your spare time, besides redecorating?
CCA: I just got back into yoga, and I play tennis.
TW. What do you think life will be like after "Friends"?
CCA: I think that life will be very hard at first when the show is over. I love it, and I really enjoy the people that I work with. I think I will feel like "Wow, it's been really great," and then I'll start some new project. I'm very fortunate to have been on a show that has been running so long.
CCA: [waiting for Wofford's frantic typing to subside]: You type as fast as my assistant.
TW.* Never fast enough.
TW. You've been on shows that weren't as successful.
CCA: Yeah, I've been on shows that didn't last long, or that were at the end of their run when I started.
CCA: Wait. Hold on a minute. Lisa Kudrow is Ming me [sending an "instant message" via an online service]. Let me tell her I'm doing an interview. [She begins a slow hunt-and-peck at the keyboard and laughs.] I don't type as fast as you.
TW. What did you know about David before you met him?
CCA: I'd heard he was funny and unconventional. [She laughs slightly.] And he is, his whole family is. [David's sisters Rosanna and Patricia, and brother Alexis are all actors.] They're a really interesting family. I mean, my family is certainly not boring. I had nine stepbrothers and step-sisters. But we're not all into the arts. Being with [the Arquette family] is like being in a completely different world.
TW. Did you always know you wanted to act or model?
CCA: I knew I wanted to do some-thing, although I didn't exactly know what. I just kind of went to New York and thought I'd do something. I got work pretty quickly, a makeover spread in a teen magazine or something. I got that job pretty quickly.
TW. Enough work to be encouraged.
CCA: Yeah.
TW. Were you a cheerleader in high school?
CCA: In like seventh grade, I think. I made the squad later, but I dropped out because I wanted to spend the summer with my father in Florida.
TW. Which "Friends" cast member kisses best?
CCA: That's a good question. I think I've only kissed Matthew [Perry, who plays Monica's fiancé, Chandler]. Have I kissed anybody else? I don't think so. I would imagine they all kiss pretty well, though.
TW: Why aren't you working today?
CCA: We have the week off. We shoot 24 episodes, and we work three weeks, then get a week off. Today is a work day for me, just not a work day on "Friends."
TW. What's a typical work day like?
CCA: We might work 12 hours a day, and we used to work longer. It's gotten easier, we've gotten better at doing the show, so the days aren't as long as they used to be.
TW. Do you prefer movies to TV work?
CCA: I like doing both. I get something out of both mediums. I like doing a project and then moving on. I like to create a character, do it and then move on. I like endings and new beginnings. I'm very fortunate because "Friends" is like a family. If you get a job that lasts that long, you better like the people you work with, otherwise it could be hell. I'm very fortunate.
TW. Do you and David ever talk about working together again?
CCA: We've done it so many times that it isn't any big deal. We've done four movies together, no, five movies. He was in the last movie I did.
TW. What was that?
CCA: It's called "3,000 Miles to Graceland," with Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell, but David and I didn't have any scenes together. He has a small part at the beginning.
TW. How did you feel when you saw yourself on the cover of People?
CAA: That was so long ago. I didn't think much about it. It was flattering, but I didn't all of a sudden think that it made me pretty or anything. I mean, they do 50 people a year, I figured eventually they'd get around to pretty much everybody.
TW. How do you feel about being tabloid fodder?
CCA: It absolutely doesn't faze me. It bothers the people around me more than it does me. If anything I laugh. I mean, last week they had David and me breaking up, and this week they say I'm three months pregnant. It's silly.
TW. How often do you get back to Birmingham?
CCA: About once a year, for Christmas usually, Although last Christmas everybody came to see me.
TW. Haven't you brought some of your "Friends" friends home with you?
CCA: Lisa [Kudrow) came with me once.
TW. Does anybody in LA. call you C.C. [her high school nick-name]?
CCA: I have a few friends here who call me that, not many
TW: How often do you talk to your mother?
CCA - I owe her a phone call as we speak. I usually talk to her a couple of times a week. Sometimes I talk to her every day, sometimes less, depending on how hectic my schedule is.
TW. What do you remember most about when you lived in Birmingham?
CCA: Going to Ollie's for barbecue. And there was this sweet man at the Birmingham Country Club named Buster who used to give me tons and tons of sweet rolls. I loved those sweet rolls. There's this street near where I lived, Royal Oak, and my best friend lived on it, and it was a blast to go down after a big snow.
TW. What do you miss about it?
CCA: I missed Krispy Kreme, until they opened them out here. Sneaky Pete's hot dogs.
TW. What do you think is the biggest misperception about you?
CCA: That I'm a lot like Monica. I don't talk like her. I definitely am not as uptight as her over the same things. She needs everything to go exactly, and I can go with the flow a little more. She is so competitive, and competition actually makes me nervous. But I think she's becoming a little more easygoing lately
TW. Monica thinks a lot about children, do you?
CCA: No, I don't think a lot about it, because I know that's going to be apart of my life. I'll probably start trying next summer, but I don't dwell on.
TW. About the campaign [the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau campaign promoting Birmingham]? What made you decide to do it?
CCA: It's my home town. I love Birmingham. So much of my family is there. It's a beautiful place. It's a great place to grow up.
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SHE MAKES A WHOPPING $1 MILLION PER EPISODE FOR FRIENDS, BUT IT'S COURTENEY COX'S REFRESHING TAKE ON LIFE, NOT HER PAYCHECK, THAT MAKES HER A RICH, RICH WOMAN.By John Griffiths
COURTENEY COX CAN'T SIT STILL. A self-described putterer, she's happiest when she's on the go, whether that means moving into a new house in the Hollywood Hills, starring in commercials with her husband, actor David Arquette, or, as we found her, chatting on her cell phone, squeezing out one last instruction regarding her impending move: Don't forget the bondage table,she says with a mischievous giggle. (More on that table later!) So it's no surprise that instead of taking a break during the sunny hiatus after her ninth season of Friends, Cox, 38, is typically keeping busy, producing her new show, Mix It Up, on WE: Women's Entertainment. We persuaded the actress to---this was the hard part---sit down and fill us in on life, love, and---oh, yeah---bargain shopping.
Glamour: You're moving---again. How many houses have you bought and sold over the last few years?
Courteney Cox: I have to add[She counts silently.] Six. Everyone asks me if I'm into flipping houses, but that's not it. I just happen to have the kind of personality that likes to move and change. I buy them, I love them, I think of all the things that need to be done to them so they'll be the perfect house for me to live in. And then I go, Ok, new project.So, I'll move again. I've always made a pretty good living at it because I can fix them up without spending a ton of money. When I bought my first house, I'd only done 13 episodes of a television series. I'd saved every dime until I could afford it. Two years later, I sold it and made a [large]profit!
Glamour: What's your newest house going to be like?
CC: It will have an organic look----modern chairs and stone tables. I want it to feel like a womb. My bedroom will be decorated in deep oranges and ambers. I want you to walk in my new bedroom and go, Oh, my gosh, it's so cozy!I've been to Jennifer [Aniston] and Brad [Pitt]'s new house, which they haven't moved into yet. Now, that blew me away. They've taken a beautiful home and made it into something that is beyond imagination. Their taste together and separately is great.
Glamour: So what's this about a bondage table?
CC: Oh, that little thing? David has this table of a, well, bondage lady from A Clockwork Orange. She's dressed in black leather, down on all fours, and there's a piece of glass on her back. It is an artistic piece, but trying to incorporate that into the new decor is a challenge.
Glamour: Do you and David have very different taste? It seems as if you two are polar opposites.
CC: Well, when David and I first moved in together, we were so different in what we liked. At the same time, I was into the all-white slipcover look with dark wood furniture, and his taste was a tad more---
Glamour: Eccentric?
CC: Yes, David collects so many things, tchotchkes.
Glamour: Like what?
CC: Like small pigs. He has an entire collection---they're so tiny. I mean, why? Why collect pigs? I can't stand a bunch of little things, but he likes them, so he has a separate room for that stuff---it's his office.
Glamour: But the bigger stuff, like the bondage table, how do you work around that?
CC: Surprisingly enough, you can find ways to make it work. I'm taking the bondage lady and putting her in a bedroom we have that has a glass floor---it'll be cool. And David likes to surf, so I found these hooks to hang his surfboard above a door, so it looks more like an art piece instead of, you know, a surfboard lying around the house.
Glamour: Sounds like you've done a good job of combining your tastes.
CC: Yeah, and that's sort of how the idea came about for Mix It Up, a home-improvement show I'm producing for the Women's Entertainment network. We show couples how they can work with---and around---their different decorating tastes.
Glamour: So maybe producing is in your future. What else is in store for you after Friends?
CC: I'm about to do this movie called November, and I think a lot of people will be surprised when they see me. I'm going to completely change my look for the film, and that's exciting. But I'm going to miss Monica. In fact, I'll miss everything about the show---the people, the writing. It's home.
Glamour: What's the most important thing you've learned over the course of your career?
CC: Don't get lazy they'll just turn out that way. There have been times on the show where I would do a scene and think, Oh, I'm sure it's fine. But you know what? The scene is going to be on tape forever, so I'd say, Ok, let's take another pass at it! One thing I have not learned is how not to get too emotionally involved with other people. If a friend of mine is going through something difficult, I can worry all night.
Glamour: You lost your father, Richard, to skin cancer a few years ago. How has that changed you?
CC: My dad knew he was going to die, so I used to ask him, How do you sleep at night, knowing you're going to die? I would never sleep again.But he just turned off the fear. He went to bed, got up the next day and tried to conquer the disease. One day, I'd like to make a movie about him, about his relationships with his kids. After he died, I became fearless about a lot of things. You know, I try not to dwell on the small stuff.
Glamour: Like what? Can you give us an example?
CC: I used to worry about what people thought of me. I'd think, Oh, did I hurt their feelings? Or, Did that come off the right way? But then I realized that the people who really know me also know where I'm coming from, so I shouldn't have to obsess about everything I say or do. And you know, it's OK for people not to like me, and it took me a long time to realize that.
Glamour: So you used to second-guess yourself?
CC: Well, I used to try so hard to get approval, to please everyone, like, Like me, like me! But you know, it turns out I didn't like the people I was trying so hard to impress that much anyway. I was drawn to people who were aloof or inconsistent, the type of person who might be extremely nice one day and then not seem to care the next. But with my closest friends, you never have to second-guess---you know where you stand with them, and they know where they stand with you. That's what I like in a person.
Glamour: And David? You two celebrate your fourth wedding anniversary this month [on June 12]. Congratulations! What do you think has been the key to your survival?
CC: It's funny, but when David and I first started dating, I thought he was sweet and that I liked to kiss him.
Glamour: But you didn't think it would last?
CC: Right. We were too different in too many ways. I thought he was a) too young, and b) too wild. I remember early on, even Jennifer [Aniston] said, he' really sweet, but.....
Glamour: What changed your mind?
CC: His mother died, and I saw David make huge changes in his life. He really grew up, and everyone recognized it. And it turns out that even though he seemed so wild, hr's not afraid of relationships or commitment at all. I was the one who was commitment-phobic, like 'No, no, no!' But David is really relationship-minded.
Glamour: How so?
CC: You know, if something goes wrong, and I jokingly say, Well,we're probably not going to make it,he'll say, 'Don't even put stuff like that out there in the universe!'
Glamour: You're both so busy. How do you work around each other's schedule?
CC: If David's away shooting a movie for a short period of time, we're fine. We'll check in. But when he goes away for a while, for a month or more, it's not good. He's not a great phone person, and neither am I. He'll call when I'm in the middle of something, or I'll call him when he's distracted. The timing's always off. We're not good at the long-distance thing.
Glamour: Between spending time with David, filming Friends and working bondage tables into your decor, when do you find time to relax? Do you do yoga?
CC: I used to, which was nice. But to tell you the truth, what really calms me down is when I putter. I want to get up and do stuff! People might say, Oh, Courteney, please sit down. Relax.And I used to think, Why don't I relax? But now I realize, Sorry, that's not the way my brain or body works. I love a Sunday morning where I can putter about without anyone saying,'Courteney, sit down. Being true to myself is what's relaxing to me, and being true to myself is puttering!
Glamour: Anything else that relaxes you?
CC: I knit. I take Pilates. But my new passion is karate. I started taking it because David does it, and it looked like he was having a lot of fun. I like that you get to exercise your mind because you have to memorize different routines. And you get to achieve goals---I just made blue belt! But I definitely have a long way to go. I keep asking my teacher, When do I get my black belt?' He's like, 'Courteney, years!'
Glamour: When do you feel happiest? When do you like down and say, Oh, yeah, this is it?
CC: I have two cavalier King Charles spaniels and one Burmese Mountain Dog---Hopper, Harley, and Ella. They bring me so much joy. The two little ones sleep in the bed with me and David, and the really big one---thank goodness---sleeps on the floor. It makes me so happy when I'm lying in bed and look over and see my husband, two little dogs and one big dog on the floor. I think, I don't think I can be any happier than this.
COURTENEY'S BARGAIN DO'S AND DON'T'S
Do stock up on affordable basics. “I have a bunch of Gap simple tees---they're the best. And if I was going to decorate on a budge, Ikea has great things.
Do hit up flea markets for good deals on furniture---you can redo the pieces yourself!
Do hit the drugstore---beauty products don't have to cost a fortune. Dove soap's good. And I love Neutrogena Body Oil.
Do shop online. You can pay full price at a store, then see the same item online for half off!Cox likes http://outdoorfabrics.com
Don't put a price on everything. My two favorite things---my baby pillow and old photos of my parents---are priceless.
4 QUESTIONS COURTENEY COX NEVER WANTS TO HEAR AGAIN:
So, are you excited?
Reporters always ask this at awards shows. Guess what? No---I'm not excited! It's not like I'm a guy and I can play some basketball, put on a tuxedo and go. It takes a lot of work to go to those things!
What's Bruce Springsteen really like?
First of all, I did his video [for Dancing in the Dark] in 1984. Second, I have no idea, other than that he was really nice to me. It's not like we spent the weekend together!
Are you like Monica?
You can't play someone for nine years and not have similarities, but I'm definitely more easygoing than she is. She's hypersensitive about cleanliness. I like things to be clean, but I'm not like that.
Are you all really friends outside of Friends?
Actually, I don't really mind being asked this question. But the only thing I could possibly say to it is, Haven't you already heard or read somewhere that we actually are?
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Town & Country Interview ONLY(Sept. 2003)
(BELOW)
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR STYLE?
I'm very specific in my taste. I like the softer side of Prada. I just love Marni because it's free-spirited, flirty, and fun. Unlike [my character] Monica, I'm not trendy at all. I like classy looks, but I don't want to look preppy.
WHAT ARE YOUR WARDROBE ESSENTIALS?
Navy, black, and red Prada shirts with small collars. A few crazier shirts by Marni with floral and patchwork prints. Brown, white and gray Lucien Pellat-Finet cashmere sweaters. I've got to have Katayone Adeli and Chole' pants, and I love Manolo Blahnik heels, but not too high. I have a lot of Marni coats, but my favorite is a brown tweed.
HOW IS YOUR FASHION SENSE DIFFERENT FROM DAVID's?
He's a lot more ecletic. He'll wear anything from a zoot suit on his birthday to a jumpsuit. We were in England once and he put on a see-through plastic suit. Jennifer[Aniston] was there, and when she saw him, she just said, "No, absoulutely no. That is wrong!" She may have been right in that case! But, I think he's a great dresser. I'm definitely open to different looks, but I know what I feel comfortable in.
WHAT DO YOU THROW ON IN THE MORNING?
I wear a lot of Earl Jeans and Juicy Couture. I have a very long body and don't know what I did before low-waisted jeans and Cosabella underwear. Thank goodness they came out with the low rider.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER ELEGANT FOR EVENING?
I like Dior dresses: The dior evening gowns that I've worn-and I've worn many-are really sexy and hip. They're very young and very stylish. Going to events is not my favorite thing to. I'm usually not comfortable around a ton of people and I don't like small talk. But I'm getting much better at it.
WHAT DOES "LADY LIKE" DRESSING BRING TO MIND?
Well, I don't wear ruffles, satin, big cuffs, and wide collars. I think they overpower me, and I'm too small for them. I love color though-burgunsy, black, aqua, white, and red.
WHAT'S THE MOST ELEGANT THING YOU'VE WORN TO AN EVENT?
A lavender dress by Versace that I once wore to the Fire and Ice Ball[the annual Los Angeles celebrity fundrasier for breast cancer research]. There was a lot of clevage and it was really tight-fitting. I definitely felt sexy in it.
HOW DID YOU DRESS AS A TEENAGE? I would rather have had one pair of pants that I really loved than ten that were okay. I worked very hard to buy a pair of jeans with a red pinstripe that I wore all the time.
IS YOUR WARDROBE DIFFERENT TODAY?
Now, I constantly clean out my closet and give clothes away. I don't like to wear something over and over again. David takes up 99 percent of the closet.
DO YOU LIKE TO SHOP?
I go through phases where clothes are quite important to me, and then I couldn't care less about them and all I'm interested in are houses.[Over the past few years Courteney has bought and restored seven homes, eventually reselling five of them.] I don't have the patience to shop and I get overwhelmed in big stores. Prada and Fred Segal usually pull things for me so that I can try them on at home.
WHAT DO YOU REFUSE TO WEAR?
One, things that make my hip look wide: no seams cut sideway or on the bias. And two, extremely trendy clothes. I wouldn't buy something in the coolest, hippest shop.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVE ACCESSORY?
Purses. I just got a Dior with brown leather straps that's great, and I love the classic Balenciaga bag.
HAS MARRIAGE CHANGED THE WAY YOU DRESS?
I've probably become a little more adventourous, because David is. I used to be more insecure, and searching, but now I feel very setteled, and I have the freedom to be myself.
WHOSE STYLE DO YOU ADRMIRE?
I like the way Nicole Kidman dresses, and I think Milla Jovovich's style is free, daring, and ever-changing.
DO YOU AND JENNIFER ANISTON EVER LEND EACH OTHER CLOTHES?
We have the same size feet and wear pretty much the same size clothes. I love what she wears to events. She's got more patience, likes to try on different things, and takes the time to do it right. And, she likes to shop, so I have a better shot at borrowing things!
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From USA Today: A Revealing Sit-Down With Courteney Cox
Courteney Cox is ready for life after Friends.
By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
At that moment, a waiter at the swanky Beverly Hills Polo Lounge comes to refill her glass of iced tea. But the star, here to talk about an old TV show (Friends) and a new one (Mix It Up, a design series on WE: Women's Entertainment), has taken only a few sips. The glass is at least half full. Cox waves off the waiter.
"That's one of my pet peeves in life: you get it so perfect and they come and want to add more! The amount of sugar I have in there now, it's so perfect!"
The inflection in her voice is pure Monica as she uses a knife to scrape some spilled sugar into a pile. It's really just a matter of having a lot of energy, she says. "I'm revved!"
And it's not caffeine-induced.
"I don't drink coffee, put it that way. All those years of sitting in Central Perk? I'm faking it!"
Now the faking is about to end for us all. Tonight, Cox, who broke into the business in a Bruce Springsteen video in 1982, will do her Monica thing in the third of the last 18 episodes of NBC's must-see comedy (8 p.m. ET/PT).
It's the home stretch of a decade playing Monica, the den mom, the chef, the girlfriend of Richard (Tom Selleck), the sister of Ross (David Schwimmer), the pal of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc), and the wife of Chandler (Matthew Perry).
"It's going fast, and it's going to be really hard. I'm going to cry for a long time," she says.
The group has presented an unusually united front through the years, and Cox says she is truly close to Aniston and Kudrow. "I know we'll be friends for life."
The final episode will be taped Jan. 22, and Cox has an idea about how it's going to end.
So, spill!
She grins. "I kind of have a little more than an idea, so I can't say."
Will it be a big surprise?
"Everybody's going to think it's a great episode."
She knows that people might think of her as Monica for the rest of her life, but she wisely says: "It has also been the greatest opportunity of my life. I don't know what else could top it, except for children."
That's a sensitive issue. Cox and her husband of four years, David Arquette, have been through many miscarriages. She is 39, he is 32. Children are a high priority for them. "We're working pretty hard at it," she says, adding, "No, I'm not" pregnant now.
She explains further to Barbara Walters on Friday's 20/20 that she has tried in vitro fertilization and "will try it again." She continues at lunch, saying, "David is meant to have children. He just is. I think I'm meant to have them, but David's gotta have kids. So I can't imagine that not happening for us."
On Friends, Monica and Chandler are looking into adoption because they are having trouble conceiving. Would Courteney and David do the same?
"I would adopt if that was ... I would do that if ..." She doesn't finish either sentence. Finally, she says, "Sure, I would adopt." She then says, "I feel confident that things will work out. So many people have so much trouble having kids. Trying. Trying. Trying.
"But we're not panicked about it. A lot of times people say as soon as you relax you'll have a kid. I'm not worried about it."
She has designs on a new show
What she has been worrying about is a different new addition to her life: another TV show. She and Arquette are executive producers of Mix It Up, which premieres on cable's WE Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The concept is to take two people who live together and spend no more than ,500 to come up with a style that works for them both.
She came up with the idea because she loves designing and renovating homes. Since 1986, she has bought, redone and sold five houses in L.A. She and Arquette own a Malibu beach house she says she'll never sell. But her current home, in the Hollywood Hills, could be up for grabs at some point.
The show came from her own experience: When she married Arquette, the two realized they had different sensibilities.
"Everything that bothers me does not bother David. And everything that bothers David does not bother me. We are completely opposite. I'm not good at holding things in. It causes me anxiety not to deal with something head-on. Whereas David can just go, 'I'll deal with that later,' I cannot do that."
David calls later and gives his point of view: "She's hyper-real. She's just on it. She's not going to hold anything back. She's upfront. She's specific."
As for their differences in taste, he's a flea-market guy, she's not. "I like funky stuff," he says, and remembers when they first combined their belongings. "I had some interesting pieces and I wasn't nearly as educated or specific as Courteney. I would just go pick a carpet out. I wouldn't get samples and see how they worked."
It's not that he's a slob and she's a neat freak. But he is a collector, a saver. And she's not.
"There's a difference in people being able to throw things away and people not," she says. "I'll be 90 years old, about to die, and my kids will be like, 'Did you save anything? Any family photos?' Not a one."
She's joking, she says. She does save photos but says that when David's father died, he had kept "a huge warehouse of stuff"  mementos, photos and other family memorabilia. Her own father died a couple of years ago, and she has one thing: "his belt."
Call her Cox, or Cox Arquette
Her dad is the reason she uses both Cox and Cox Arquette as last names. She likes the idea of keeping Cox in memory of her father, but she is definitely a part of the Arquette family, she says.
Don't mistake their different personal styles for discord in the marriage.
"I'm the luckiest girl in the world. David's the best guy. I love him so much."
Though she's seven years older than Arquette, she's sure they'll be married forever. "I think so. I really do."
Because you're so committed or because it's a great relationship?
"I think we're committed to our great relationship. We're committed to growing and changing, and we give each other a lot of freedom. I don't think we'd ever get lazy where we're having issues and growing apart. We have problems, don't get me wrong. But we would be in therapy and get it fixed."
They went to therapy "for a long time" before they got married, she says. "We got engaged and we both had just quit smoking and we were fighting a lot. So we went to the therapist, and he said you guys are not ready to get married."
She explains, "When you quit smoking (it's been five years now), you can't hold things in anymore. You get frustrated, you smoke a cigarette, you swallow something. But when you're not smoking, there's no outlet, there's no escape."
So every complaint they had with each other came out. In therapy, she says, they "worked hard and learned about ourselves and pushing each other's buttons and hurting each other. We went for a long time. Then the therapist said, 'I think you're ready,' and we got married about five minutes later."
Now they're working hard, together, on the new show, which opens with a cartoon of the two of them but will not feature either of them on air beyond that.
"I could be myself (on Mix It Up), but that wouldn't be fun. It's harder to be myself than it is to be a character. When I have to do things like go onstage and announce something like the Emmys, for instance that's almost enough to put me under. It's so nerve-racking. I definitely wanted this to be something I wanted to watch. I've watched all those other shows and I'm so obsessed with design."
The next Martha Stewart? "No," she says. "I enjoy watching her, but I'm never going to do those things. She teaches you how to do things."
Like cook, for example. And Cox doesn't cook much. The remodeling and redesigning of a home is what she likes, and that's why it made sense for a show.Besides, after being Monica, she had no desire to do anything resembling weekly television.
"I've got to say I do get bored with things pretty easily. I'm so lucky that I've been on a show that's been so wonderful. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing."
She has just finished a dramatic role in a little movie called November and hopes to continue acting, playing characters that won't remind anyone of Monica.
"I've had fun playing her, and I think it will be sad not to play her. But I think it's all good timing. Ten years. It feels right."
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